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Region One Report learned today of two new resignations at Housatonic Valley Regional High School….

It has been reported to Region One Report from reliable sources at Housatonic that Principal Matt Harnett has resigned this morning to take another job at another district, and Gina Jasmine is also resigning to also take a job outside of Region One.

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4 comments

This region gives great support to our schools, always has, always will. When budgets get defeated (and my uncle and aunt went to Region 1 schools, my brothers and sisters, and my sons and daughters are all graduates of Region 1 schools, as am I), budgets are not defeated about money, or programs, or teachers, or arts, or technology. They are defeated when the public feels left out by the administration, and board of education. This happened years ago, over administrative issues. People in Region 1 pay one of the highest per pupil rates in the state, and do not complain. Yes, it is a blow that a principal resigns weeks before the school year begins, but this is a situation we faced three years ago as well. We need changes in the board and administration, and we need them soon, or this will only keep repeating itself. A self fulfilling prophecy. Please don’t blame the public for micromanaging…micromanaging can only come from within the system, not from outside. The system is broke and it needs to be fixed, soon.

They lost a good one this time. Say what you want about a puppet or whatever Mr Harnett was there for the kids. I attend many functions at the high school and he is at most of them. Maybe he was a victim of the situation he was in but he never lost sight of the students. When you had a problem with the school he checked into it and got back to you when he said he would. If he made a mistake he owned up to it. Where ever he is going is getting a great guy, given a little more time and different leaders he would have gone down as one of the best at Housatonic.
I also have a middle school daughter unfortunately hardly any of her classmates want to go to the high school. It is sad to see what has become a school that has so much to offer. Now people don’t even want to go there.

Being a recent HVRHS graduate myself, I believe that the first six months of having Mr. Harness were good, but it started to go downhill from there. There were a lot of things I saw with my own eyes that he did that were beyond disrespectful. The amount that he cared for the kids got less and less with every passing day.

To anonymous dated August 15, 2013 @ 7:06 pm. It’s great that you had a good experience with Mr. Harnett. I’m with anonymous dated August 16, 2013 @ 7:03 pm, however. I never thought of Mr. Harnett in the same light after the Steven Hurley hearing where he seemed a petulant little child and not at all professional. The way he handled the problems with the former basketball coach and the concerns of the players and parents this season left a whole lot to be desired. But among the worse was his plan for the reduction in staff, because there was no plan. By failing to work collaboratively with department heads and bring them into the process to find ways that the reductions would least effect the kids, he did it himself wholesale without thoroughness or thoughtfulness and frankly made a mess. Hardly putting the kids first. The lack of a rigorous technology plan regarding the Ipads where proper teacher training and a host of other things that needed to be done to roll out the program in a consistent and knowledgeable way was nonexistent. I’m delighted the assistant principal had the good sense to recognize the problem at the last Board meeting and pushed to implement the program in a more common sense manner. Further, I was very surprised to read in the newspaper how many different jobs at different levels Mr. Harnett has had over the last decade or so. Maybe there shouldn’t be any surprise in his leaving at all.